The Neurotic

About two weeks ago, since I came back from my trip to HK. I have been in what one could call an -er mode. A contruction worker to specific. With carpenters being in demand and my patience wearing thin. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Literally.

Stripping off the old rotten wood....




Hammering in new boards (carpenter did this)...



1st and 2nd coat of paint, looking good so far...



Last coat of paint



Tadah...not yet done but this will have to do for now.... my wallet is already bleeding out as it is... :P

As we were exiting the restaurant my friend was staring at me not believing what just happened. "How can you act as if it that was the most simplest of things?", he asked.

"What do you mean? It was the simplest of things. The guy used his credit card to pay for our meal and I him cash for it."

"You know that is not what I mean. How can it be that simple for you? Is your life this easy? It's f@cking unfair for the rest of us. Hell, I pity the guy who is your opposite in terms of luck." my friend ranted in disbelief.

It all started with a hungry stomach and a good offer 30 minutes earlier....

"Oooo a free pasta dish if our order gets past P250 if I charge it to my credit card? Count me in!", I told my gym buddy, "After a two hour workout I am hungry!"

After the meal I hand the credit card with the promotional offer, my only credit card really (I don't like multiple cards, if you have more than one then that, to me, is living past your means).

"Ummm, sir, your card is declined."

"Huuur!?! O rly? Can you try again?"

"I tried several times sir but it really was declined."

"Great, I'll just have to pay by cash then. So how does that work? How much should I pay for the extra pasta?"

"Errr, sir, maybe you have another card? We already punched it in and we already put it in as free... I'm not really sure how to process this."

"You won't accept cash?"

"I don't think I can sir because of the promo."

After several circular exchanges with the waitress and the manager, the guy just beside my table chimes in, "You won't accept cash?" He repeated. He seems to have taken a keen interest in my situation and after a hurried explanation. "Wait, free pasta if I make a P250 purchase with my credit card? I have two of those! I'll pay for his meal and I'll pay mine with my other card to get that free pasta. Is that good?"

......

"Dude, what are the chances that a guy beside our table has not one by two of the required credit card company AND that he is willing to offer to pay for our bill!?!"

"Errr, a big chance actually." I returned.

"A BIG chance!?! In your world maybe. Man, I heard about you, the other guy at the gym said you were a lucky @$$...but this just takes the cake. I'm f@cking livid that you live in this crazy world believing that everything will turn out for the best."

"Dude, if I was REALLY lucky, my card would not have been declined. Suck on that."

".... I hate your logic...." my friend flailing his hands in the air.

8am
I woke up on Saturday, 26th Sept, to the hurried shouts of my mother. Flood waters was rushing into our house. Like a feisty and temperament woman, it called our undivided attention.

10am
We, as a family, are by no means new to flooding. In fact, we are so used to it that we practically have a routine and everyone knows what role to play. We go through the motions. Move the cars to higher ground. Move everything to the 2nd floor. Waters are rising faster than normal we thought. I counted how many steps to the second floor it has reached. 5th step. This was as bad as the 1996 flooding. Time? 10am. Low tide? That can't be right....

11am
Water hasn't subsided. No, this is worse. My brother and I exchange knowing looks. We need to buckle up. It's about to begin. High tide.



12noon
We were forced to escape through our 2nd floor rooftop fire escape. We heard reports that 2, and eventually 3, dams were opened. Who knows. Where was the advanced warning I thought while me and our neighbor's driver were trying desperately to cut the wired fence between our rooftop and their's. Short respite, surely it won't go any higher. I was wrong. There goes the house.



2pm
Neighbors are starting to panic. They have an elderly with them and they are no spring chicken as well. Except for their driver they are all women. We need a plan. 4 steps before it reaches their 2nd floor. If the water doesn't subside we need to leave.

4pm
We get the elderly out through a makeshift raft. My aunt and a few fire fighter volunteers have come to help. They head out. We start to break windows to get access to their rooftop. My brother and I help each one to the next house. Go for higher ground. We stay behind, once we see they are safely in the hands of the fire fighters and my aunt.

The dogs. "I'll take care of them", my brother signals. I head inside the house and grab whatever food I can get. Am I a looter then? Doesn't matter. The neighbor's driver and I grab what we can.

6pm
They are all cuddled inside our van. I look at my feet, both the rivers that the village is located between, touch. First time I have seen it. Do they know each other I wonder. Do they remember one another like forgotten lovers I ask myself.

I look on. Our house is no where to be seen. I look on. Everything is gone. I strangely feel calm. Everything inside the house is washed away. I can look at this as a disaster or a clean slate. A clean slate. A curse or a gift? A gift I decide. No, that is wrong, I don't decide to look at it as a gift, rather, I need to for the next few days...

There are no more tethers. I can start clean. A rare gift, if a frustrating one.
My every collection, hobby, memorabilia gone. Washed away.

"Tony, go buy a ticket to Legaspi, we are going to Donsol." Woot! It was an SMS message from Darwin, my HS barkada, at 1.30 in the early morning and we are leaving in two days. Talk about rushed planning. Next thing I knew it was 4am and I was at the Terminal 3 airport waiting to board a plane.

I already went to Donsol last year to check out the Butandings. I don't think I will ever get tired of interacting with these docile creatures. Even if I always do get some jellyfish bites...










What I didn't mention in that post was that there is another reason why one would want to go to Donsol, Sorsogon. Fireflies. Apparently, Donsol is one (1) of only three (3) places in Asia where you can readily see Fireflies.

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Whew..... December really fills up one's social calendar. I've been so busy with activities that I find myself falling asleep at a chair somewhere if I'm left alone for 10 mins. Not too mention that I am sometimes forced to drag myself out of the bed before 11am. ><

With Mave flying in, in just a day, I sure hope I don't crash like I did sometime before. Especially not after recovering from my month of bad luck.




Spent time with the guys during the Hilom first year Anniversary. It was a fun night, but I think I'm getting too old for these late night (more appropriately, early morning) drinking binges. It was fun none the less.




Fitness First 3rd Annual Body Combat Competition this year was a blast! Everyone outdid themselves. A round of applause to everyone from the participants to the organizers! Outstanding!




Yup. That's me among them older gentlemen. This was taken during the AID/HIV forum for Quezon City where Vice-Mayor Herbert (rightmost) was leading our oath taking. Oath taking!?! Yeah, I am officially the Vice-president for external affairs (read as: Utusan/ Slave for external meetings) of the QC Health and Lifestyle Spa Massage Clubs KTVs Association. I expect perks! Dammit! :P



CAREBEAR STARE!

I think someone placed a voodoo curse on me (kinukulam ako!). Either that or the universe is trying to tell me stay at home since my 'dragon luck' seems to be running pretty low......

First week. I got sick.



Second week. I get a bad sprain (which I am still trying to recover from).



Third week. WTF!?!



I'm sorry, whoever you are, please remove your curse....please. please. please.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mave. It's a simple photo taken through my phone's camera, which I feel is quite apt. The reason I like it so much is that I feel it captures his personality. No fuss, techie, loves to take photos and with a ready smile and an innocent look in his eyes.

Been a long time since I got my photos taken by Dave (at least 3 years). Anyway, he was kind enough to arrange a photoshoot for me a while ago. Here are some choice pics. What do you guys think?






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